Heart of the tree

Poem by Henry Cuyler Bunner

(Beeta Publication)

Passage - 1
(i) To whom is the poet asking the question in the first line of the extract?
Mention any two things, according to the extract, that man will do by planting
trees.

The poet does not put this question to anybody in particular. It is just a question to
draw the reader's attention to the importance of planting trees. He himself answers
the question.

According to the extract the man who plants a tree plants 'a friend of sun and sky,
and home for birds and animals near heaven.'

(ii) Give the meaning of the following lines:

He plants a friend of sun and sky;

He plants the flag of breezes free;

A tree is a friend of the sun and the sky. The sun and the sky help a tree to grow up
and spread its branches. The tree in turn keeps the air clean. A tree flutters like a
flag in the breeze, and makes the breeze cool and fresh. The tree is beautiful, tall like
a tower. A tree is a home for birds and animals. They make their nests high up in the
sky.

(iii) In what way are the trees friends of sun and sky? How can a man plant the
flag of breeze free?

Trees need the light of the sun to make their food by the process of photosynthesis. It
needs sky (space) to spread its branches. Trees clean and purify the air, and cool the
breezes. In this way trees, sun and sky help each other like friends.

(iv) What is meant by ‘the shaft of beauty’? What is compared to the shaft?

As the tree grows, its trunk looks like the shaft (the pole) of a flag. The grown up tree
is beautiful and is compared to the shaft of beauty.

(v) What is the impact of the beginning of the poem with a question? What is
the figure of speech used here?

Beginning the poem with a question draws reader's attention to an important topic:
'Why we should plant trees.' The figure of speech used here is 'rhetorical question'.
Passage - 2
(i) What is known as the mother-croon of bird? Why is the song sung in a
hushed voice?
The soft sweet song mother bird sings to her chicks in evening is described as
mother-croon of birds. The song is sung in the quiet, and happy twilight when the
mother birds returns to her little ones for the night. It is a sort of lullaby.

(ii) What is twilight? Why it is a happy twilight?

Twilight is the faint light at the end of the day when the sun goes down. It is a happy
twilight because mother bird has returned to her nest and she is with her chicks. It
is like a happy home.

(iii) What is meant by: (a) treble (b) heaven’s harmony? What role does the
treble play in heaven’s harmony?
Treble is high tone in music. In the evening there is peace and harmony in nature.
The treble note of the mother bird is like pleasant music to the quiet atmosphere.

(iv) In this lesson, under the heading ‘Style’, the meaning of metonymy is given.
Give two examples of metonymy from the extract. How is it used in the
context?
Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own
name but rather by another name associated with that thing or concept. In this poem
a tree is called by various names associated with it. For example a tree is called 'the
flag of breezes free' and 'a shaft of beauty towering high'.

(v) Give any four functions which a tree performs on this Earth.
1. A tree provides cool shade.
2. A tree takes up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen.
3. A tree causes rain to fall.
4. A tree provides shelter to birds and beasts.

Passage - 3
(i) Enumerate any three benefits of planting trees as suggested by the poet in
this extract. What do the plants do to provide cool shade?
Plants provide cool shade and gentle rain. They provide seeds and buds which grow
into trees. Over a period of time trees multiply and turn into a forest. Plants
obstruct the rays of the sun, and provide cool shade.

(ii) The water evaporates, condenses and falls as rain. What role do the trees
play in this process of producing rain?
Water evaporates. To condense and fall as rain they needs to be cooled down. Trees
provide the cool shade and help the vapours to condense and fall as rain.
(iii) How do the last two lines of the extract explain the process of
regeneration? How does the man plant the forest’s heritage?
Trees produce seeds and buds. These seeds dry up but they do not die. They lie in
the soil. When they get proper conditions to grow, they sprout and grow up into
trees again. They become forests and provide benefits to the coming generations.

(iv) How do the trees provide for the harvest of the following years?
Trees are source of hundreds of useful things. They provide us with fruit and
medicines. They provide us material for building homes and huts. They provide us
material for clothing. In fact our survival depends on them. The benefits that come
from trees we plant today is the harvest of the following years.

(v) What does the expression unborn eyes indicate? What will they see that
would bring them joy?
The expression 'unborn eyes' is used for the children yet to be born. If we plant trees
now, those children will be happy to see the beautiful trees. They will rejoice because
trees are not only beautiful to look at, but also provide us shade, rain, fruit, flowers,
medicines and hundreds of other things and clean the atmosphere.

Passage - 4
(i) The poet says, “He plants, in sap and leaf and wood”. Which figure of speech
is used here? Explain its usage with two other examples from the poem.
Metonymy is the figure of speech used here 'sap', 'leaf' and 'wood' here stand for a
tree. The other example of metonymy are 'the forest's heritage' 'a flag of breezes free'.

(ii) What is meant by “far-cast thought of civic good”? In what way is the
planter’s work a blessing? State for whom it is a blessing.
A 'far-cast thought' means foresight. A person who plants a tree can foresee how the
tree he plant will do good to society. It is a blessing to the neighborhood because it
will provide cool shade, fruit, flowers etc., to them. Moreover a tree is beautiful to
look. It will be a pleasing sight.

(iii) Give the meaning of the following lines:

Who in the hollow of His hand

Holds all the growth of all our land -
A person who plants a tree holds a little sapling or a seed in the palm of his hand.
But this seed is the seed of prosperity of his nation. A seed or a sapling grows into a
big tree and trees multiply into forests which are so beneficial for a nation's growth
and development.
(iv) In what way a nation’s growth depends on planting trees?
Trees are essential for the maintenance of ecological balance. They not only give
shelter to birds and beasts but also produce oxygen which is essential for life
on earth. Trees cause rain to fall, and provide us food and material for shelter and
clothing. Without trees the world will turn into a desert and life will become
impossible. Trees provide so many useful things that the growth of a nation depends
on them.

(v) Comment on the appropriateness of the title of the poem “The Heart of the Tree”.
When you speak of-one's heart, you refer to one's generosity and kindness. In this
sense The Heart of The Tree' is an apt title. A tree is generous and kind to all
without discrimination. It lives and dies for the good of others. It provides shade and
shelter. It provides fruit and food. It provides material for building homes, ships and
other useful things. Every part of a tree is beneficial - What a heart a tree has!

******************